Water dispenser



P 1933. c. B. LANCASTER 1,927,521

WATER DISPENSER Filed May 2, 1931 INVENTOR:

CARL B. LANCASTER ATTORNEY Patented se ii 19, 1933 UN TEo STATES- PATENT orries 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in water dispensers.

The principal object of the invention is to conveniently dispense clear, filtered, cooled drinking 5 water.

Another object is to cool the water by natural evaporation, increased by induced thermo-siphon and/or forced draft circulation of air.

Another object is to maintain the maximum volume of water and active cooling surface at all times.

Another object is to provide a convenient way of disposing of drip, waste water and discarded paper drinking cups.

A further object is to arrange the various combinative elements of the apparatus in a compact ornamental cabinet.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description progresses.

In this specification and the accompanying drawing the invention is disclosed in its preferred form. It is to be understood, however, that it is not limited to this form'because'it may be embodied in other forms within the purview of the claims following the description.

In the one sheet of drawings:

The figure is a vertical section of a drinking water dispenser constructed and arranged in accordance with this invention.

In detail the construction illustrated in the drawing comprises an enclosing casing, preferably of fabricated sheet metal, having the front and rear walls 12 and the sides 3.

The corners of the cabinet are joined by four upright angle irons 44 which extend downward below the bottom of the cabinet to form the sanitary legs 5-5. The top is closed by the removable cover 6, the lower edges of which rest on the upper ends of the angle irons 4-4. The lower end of the cabinet is reinforced by the cross braces 'l'? which are joined at the center by the bolt 7.

The cabinet has the transverse bracket 8 fixed .therein. The annular drip pan 9 rests on this bracket and has the drain pipe 10 connected therewith and discharging bucket 11.

The waste bucket comprises front and rear plates 1213 and the bottom 14 to which are joined the side plates 1515. The handle 16 has its ends fixed to the sides 15 near the top of the bucket. The front 1 is cut away to receive the bucket 11. The pair of hooks 17 are fixed on the 5 bracket 8 and depend therefrom. The bucket is inserted in the opening in the front 1 and is susinto the waste pendedfrom the hooks 1'7 which engage the handle 16. The top 18 is entered in the front portion of the open bucket where it is securely held in place by the hook 17 and the lugs 19. The top has the opening 20 therein to receive discarded paper cups and waste water.

The olla or porous water jar 21 is located in the upper portion of the cabinet and rests on the channel irons 2222 in the drip pan 9. The walls of the olla are spaced from the walls,1-23 of the cabinet to permit a free circulation of the air therebetween which enters through the open lower end of the cabinet and the lower louvers 23, passes up through the cabinet and escapes through the upper louvers 23. The walls of the 70 olla being porous, they are externally moistened by seepage or sweat passing through the walls and accumulating on the outer surface. The evaporation of this film of water cools the jar and the water therein. The air absorbing the 5 heat from the jar rises, expands, and passes through the louvers 23. The enclosing cabinet thus sets up a thermo-siphonic circulation of air past the olla and increases the rate of evaporation.

If it is desired to further increase the evaporation, a forced draft can be created by the small fan 24 driven by the electric motor 25 .mounted on the wall 2, or any other prime mover.

The blast from the fan passes up around and through the center opening of the annular drip pan 9, and impinges on the surface of the olla. This has the double advantage of hastening the cooling of the water in the olla and also lowering the room temperature surrounding the apparatus.

Water is piped from the service line 26 and the valve 2'7 through the tin tubing 28 to thepressure filter 29 and thence through the tube 30. The T nipple 31 is fixed in the removable lid 32 of the olla. The pack nut 33 detachably connects the end of the tube with the nipple 31. The fioat valve 34 on the end of the nipple is controlled by the glass float 35 fixed on the end of the arm 36 which engages the valve 34 to close the same when the float rises with the water level 3'7. All piping with the apparatus can be of small capacity and preferably of tin or other suitable material to avoid contamination of the water and for convenience during installation.

The advantage of maintaining a high water level in the olla is two-fold; it insures a sufiicient reserve supply of cooled water and maintains the maximal active cooling area on the olla. This condition is assured by the float valve 3435.

The outlet nipple 38 is sealed in the bottom of the 011a and is connected through the removable union 39 with the self-closing dispensing valve 40, extending through the front 1 of the cabinet above the bucket 11 which catches the drip.

Having thus described this invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising an enclosing casing; a porous Water jar within said casing and having an outlet through said casing; a waste bucket supported within the wall of said casing beneath said outlet, and a drip pan beneath said jar draining into said bucket.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising an enclosing perforated casing; a porous water jar in saidcasing; an annular drip pan beneath said jar; means beneath said jar for driving air upward against said jar; a source of water supply piped to said jar; means for maintaining a constant water level in said jar and a filter within said casing interposed in said water supply pipe.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising an enclosing casing having downwardly directed louvers in the upper portion thereof; a porous water jar within the upper portion of said casing; means for creating an air blast within said casing and means for maintaining a constant water level in said jar.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising an enclosing casing open at the bottom and perforated along the sides, a porous water jar within said casing, a source of water supply piped to said jar, means for maintaining a constant water level in said jar, and a fan for creating an air blast below said jar.

CARL B. LANCASTER. 

